The labor movement will be a pot.
The United Food and Commercial Workers Union has launched what it calls the first apprenticeship program in the country for “apprentices” who aspire to sell weed in licensed marijuana dispensaries in New York and New Jersey.
A certified program to become a “cannabis professional” is being done in conjunction with Queens-based Cannabis Place.
“No one has done this before,” said Hugh Giordano, director of promotion at UFCW Local 360.
“We have visionary employers who are leveraging our unrivaled cannabis industry expertise to train ambitious, but often overlooked, local talent,” he said.
“It’s a scalable and repeatable model that provides great value for employees, owners and users.”
Cannabis Place founder Osbert Orduna said he partnered with the UFCW as part of a community benefits program he handed over when he obtained marijuana licenses to operate in New York and New Jersey.
“We’re training people to be budtenders, to be cannabis professionals,” Orduna, a former Marine and disabled vet who runs a licensed marijuana dispensary in Jersey City, as well as a Queens-based weed delivery service, said of the two-week apprenticeship.
The first graduating class of “budtenders” from the United Food and Commercial Workers and Cannabis Place apprenticeship program. The Cannabis Place
He said he offers a $1,000 stipend for participants in the program and his firm hires those who “pass” and earn a certificate.
The students are taught about the history of cannabis and get to know weed about the cultivation process, including how to grow and produce cannabis – a program called “seeds for sale” – as well as learn about THC, the cultivar or strain and the terpenes responsible for the aroma and taste.
Students are also advised on how to interact with customers, including conflict resolution, and briefed on the ins and outs of business and state regulations governing the industry.
Apprentices are trained to sell weed in licensed marijuana dispensaries in New York and New Jersey. The Cannabis Place
The program includes 80 hours of classroom instruction, followed by 2,000 hours on the job.
Orduna, who is of Colombian descent, said she is looking forward to working with the union and is pleased that most of the budtender program’s first 22 graduates are people of color.
The former marine is the only marijuana operator licensed to operate in New York and New Jersey and is working to open a marijuana dispensary in Middle Village, Queens.
The UFCW has been at the forefront of uniting marijuana workers across the country, and initially enlisted workers in New York’s medical marijuana program.
The “budtender” program includes 80 hours of classroom instruction and 2,000 hours on the job. The Cannabis Place
Both New York and New Jersey have experienced slow and rocky rollouts of their licensed recreational marijuana programs.
In the Empire State, there are 26 licensed dispensaries or marijuana delivery services, 11 of which are in New York City after lawmakers legalized the sale of adult marijuana in 2021.
Therefore, the apprenticeship program will start at the right time.
Amid the snail’s pace of openings, an estimated 1,500 unlicensed shops selling marijuana have sprouted like weeds across the city’s five boroughs — even across from City Hall and the Queens civic hub that included the district attorney’s office before they closed.
The students are taught about the legal cannabis industry — including the history of cannabis and the cultivation process. The Cannabis Place
Currently, there are 38 dispensaries open in the state of New Jersey. Of these, 13 are exclusively for medical marijuana patients.
The labor movement has high hopes for its role in the growing marijuana industry and is proud to put marijuana factories under the union label.
“The best employers recognize the huge pool of incredible, untapped talent out there,” said Giordano, of the UFCW. “Programs like this help attract that talent and unleash its potential.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
